As Calgary enjoys one of the warmest summers to come along in a decade, a jump in recreation-related deaths cast a pall over an otherwise glorious season.
First responders and rescue experts were kept busy with one of the most active, and deadly, recreation seasons in recent years.
Preliminary statistics show a 56 per cent increase in the number of drowning and recreation-related deaths in Alberta this summer compared with 2010.
These ?unintentional deaths? were the result of activities such as boating, swimming, horseback riding, climbing, hiking, biking and in-line skating, according to data tracked by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
In 2010, there were nine deaths in the province between June and August as a result of recreational activity.
So far this year, approximately 14 people have died.
Calgary and southern rural Alberta led the province with eight deaths, including at least two drownings.
There was just one recreation-related death in Calgary during the summer months in 2010.
The preliminary figures could increase as fatality inquiries are completed.
When people are injured or missing in the backcountry of Kananaskis, mountain safety specialist Mike Koppang is often the first to get the call.
Koppang was among the crew to recover fallen Calgary climbers Ranjit Sidhu, 31, and Jane Vuong, 25, who died last month after falling nearly 100 metres while rappelling down Heart Mountain Creek.
?The recovery missions are certainly the toughest,? Koppang said.
?We certainly don?t like doing recoveries. It?s never something you?re excited to go and do but it?s part of the job.?
?It?s important that we can reunite a family. It?s important that people get that closure in the event of a tragic accident where there is a fatality.?
After a slow start to the season, Koppang said wayward recreationists kept his crew very busy.
In addition to mountain rescues, Kananaskis Public Safety Specialists were called to three fatal drownings and conducted dozens of water rescues along the Bow and Sheep rivers.
?It?s challenging but also very rewarding,? he said.
STARS air-ambulance crews are often called to some of the worst recreation-related incidents.
Within eight minutes of receiving a call, STARS can have a crew in the air en route to the scene, said STARS spokesperson Mike Haska.
?In the summer we?ll see an increase in scene calls because people are doing recreational activities or they?re out on the highways,? Haska said.
He estimates that about 10 per cent of calls are for recreation-related incidents.
?It?s very seasonal, in the summer there?s more horseback riding incidents, more water-incidents, people diving and boating,? Haska said.
?That?s why we try to drive home the message about safety ? a helmet or a life-jacket can make the difference between an injury and severe injury or death.?
mpotkins@calgaryherald.com
? Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
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